We need a season in the gutter. Screw the no losing season record. Build the foundation this offseason, ride with the broken pieces like Mason, come into the draft next year in a position to get whoever we want.Scares me to see how stagnant this team has gotten. But they made their bed by letting Ben ride it out the past couple years when it became obvious that a new rebuild was needed. I view the 2021 season as a bridge year with Ben at the helm, even if I drank the koolaid numerous times convincing myself that they could have made more of it. But the Steelers are positioned to truly rebuild this year. Ben is gone, and the team has $40-45m in cap space (including carryover). Lots of low hanging fruit to extend that number to $50-60m too.
If Tomlin is indeed a HOF-worthy coach then he & the new GM will rebuild this team quickly and get them back into contention to rewrite his footprint. Tomlin was very fortunate to have inherited a HOF QB for the entirety of his head coaching career. That will be a substantial disclaimer hanging over any accolades that he has accomplished.
I think most fans would be fine with a rebuilding year if it meant they are positioned to dominate again after that. I fear and expect the bandaid approach that we have seen the last two years.